The Backyard Farm

Chicken Coop: Part 2

You may ask why there is no Chicken Coop: Part 1.  I will tell you.  Part one is not much to tell.  Part one was crawling over all the junk in the garage, cutting 2 of 13 boards, then having the saw quit working.  The second act of part one was getting out the circular saw, cutting halfway into board number 3, and realizing the blade was bent up beyond repair.  Act three of part one was Dickie going to all the stores between Freeland and Oak Harbor, only to find that no one had the blade we needed for the circular saw.

On Sunday, we went to Dickie’s parents’ house and used their saw.  His step-dad owns the saw in the garage we started out with (and the garage, and the house we live in, for that matter- we are very grateful), and he gave us some advice about the “reset” button.  Turns out, we learned today (after 2 weeks of trying) that all we needed to do was press that button a little harder and the saw was back in working order, though it too needs a new blade.

So to summarize, for two weeks our accomplishments included buying wood and learning about saws that didn’t work.  Today we have graduated.  When I say “we,” I really mean I watched and took pictures and occasionally held something in place while my lovely boyfriend put together the frame of our new chicken coop.  I wanted to help, I really did… but he knows how to do this stuff and I definitely don’t, so for the time being, I observe and learn while he does. 

We went to buy plywood this afternoon but it won’t fit in the car and they don’t deliver unless you buy a certain dollar amount, more than what we will be spending on 3 pieces of plywood.  Our neighbor has a truck; hopefully we can make use of that.

Here’s the basic design we used.  If I were building it, it would not turn out nearly as nicely as it is, good thing Dickie is so much more conscientious than me about angles and measurements and things being level.  http://www.organicgardening.com/pdf/coop_plans.pdf

It was a BEAUTIFUL day today, with a couple sunshowers and a couple normal cloudy showers, and a rainbow for a brief period of time:

Our chicken coop will be an A-frame, and it’s about 4 1/2 ft. tall, 6 ft. long, and around 5 ft. wide at the bottom.  The design allows for a two story home, if you will (and even if you won’t, so there!).  The “bottom floor” will be just the ground, with a ramp going up to the “second story.”  The bottom half will be surrounded with chicken wire, and the chickens will graze in this area.  The coop is small enough to be moved around the yard as desired, or (to my great delight) into the garden area to clean it out and get it ready for planting (and supply it with some great manure!).  There will be 2 laying boxes on one end with a small access door for collecting eggs, roosts, a hinged roof for easier cleaning, and a drawstring ramp so the chickens can be closed in at night or closed out during cleaning time.

I am SO excited!!!

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